An installation of this type is generally known. It can be used in particular for the preparation of compost, for example for the cultivation of mushrooms.
The bulk goods are fed in at one end of the floor and discharged at the opposite end. In the case of a composting tunnel, the compost can develop in the period between feed and discharge. For transport over the floor it is known first to lay a net on the floor and then to tip the bulk goods onto said net. The net is slowly pulled over the floor and a supplementary layer of plastic can be placed between floor and net in order to reduce friction.
The known installations have a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the layer of plastic prevents good aeration of the bulk goods. This design is therefore not very suitable for composting tunnels. Furthermore, the dimensions of the known installation are fairly large. A large chamber is needed to receive the finished compost which comes from the tunnel. Moreover, especially when preparing compost, yapours hazardous to health frequently arise. In a large chamber of this type it is not easily possible to provide good ventilation everywhere and consequently carrying out work in said chamber is not without problems.
It is known from DE-A 3 910 847 to construct the floor with a number of floor plates to receive the bulk goods, which plates are slidably supported in their longitudinal direction in such a way that the bulk goods can be discharged by joint movement of the plates from their rest position and that by repeatedly moving back some of the number of plates individually to the rest position, the bulk goods are prevented from moving back by the other plates which, in each case are not moving. It is thus possible to discharge the bulk goods from the floor without having to use a net with a layer of film beneath it and without staff having to enter the tunnel.
Installations of this type can have a large floor surface area. One composting installation, for example, has several composting tunnels alongside one another, which together form an appreciable floor surface area.